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This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 20 January 2025. Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca "Haj" redirects here. For other uses, see Hajj (disambiguation) and Haj (disambiguation). Hajj حَجّ Pilgrims at the Al-Masjid Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca on Hajj in 2010 Status Active Genre Religious pilgrimage Begins 8th day of Dhu al-Hijja Ends 12th or 13th ...
Mecca has been referred to by many names. As with many Arabic words, its etymology is obscure. [24] Widely believed to be a synonym for Makkah, it is said to be more specifically the early name for the valley located therein, while Muslim scholars generally use it to refer to the sacred area of the city that immediately surrounds and includes the Ka'bah.
Mina (Arabic: مِنَى, romanized: Minā), nicknamed the "City of the Tents," [1] [2] is a valley located 8 kilometres (5 miles) southeast of the city of Mecca, in the district of Masha'er, Province of Makkah in the Hejazi region Saudi Arabia.
Manasik (Arabic: مناسك) is the whole of rites and ceremonies that have to be performed by Islamic pilgrims in and around Mecca.The Qur'an differentiates between two manasiks: The Manasik of Hajj, has to be done in the month Dhu al-Hijjah and The Manasik of ʿUmra, which can be performed any time of the year.
During the first half of Muhammad's time as a prophet while he was at Mecca, he and his followers were severely persecuted which eventually led to their migration to Medina in 622 CE. In 624 CE, Muslims believe the direction of the qibla was changed from the Masjid al-Aqsa to the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, with the revelation of Surah 2, verse 144.
According to Ottoman historian Qutb al-Din, writing in 1857, the Qarmatian leader Abu Tahir al-Jannabi set the Black Stone up in his own mosque, the Masjid al-Dirar, with the intention of redirecting the hajj away from Mecca. This failed, as pilgrims continued to venerate the spot where the Black Stone had been. [38]
A camel caravan traveling to Mecca for the annual pilgrimage, c. 1910. The pilgrimage to Mecca is attested in some pre-Islamic Arabic poetry.Compared to Islamic-era poetry where the Hajj appears ubiquitously, only a small number of references are found to it in pre-Islamic poetry, indicating that its Arabian centrality was a development of Islamic times. [5]
The qibla is the direction of the Kaaba, a cube-like building at the centre of the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram) in Mecca, in the Hijaz region of Saudi Arabia. Other than its role as qibla, it is also the holiest site for Muslims, also known as the House of God (Bayt Allah) and where the tawaf (the circumambulation ritual) is performed during the Hajj and umrah pilgrimages.